Infinite Stratos: Rising
by Feng Lengshun
Summary: Six years ago, Ichika's body was destroyed when he fought against his kidnappers. He was then given a cyborg body by Shinonono Tabane so that he can live normally. While affected by the anesthetic used, he decided to try to change the world. Now, tired from the battles, he decided to take a rest in the IS Academy while finding potential recruits. AU with elements from Reveangeance.


**Foreword:**

Alright, I don't think this is very original or anything but even so I decided to make this. I was reading Knight of Solitude, honestly the idea was good but I find that the Rukotaro and the IS musumes kind of disturbed it. Then I had also read IS: Prototype Spartan (which is awesome, admittedly) and a bit of IS: the fusion. The last straw was me starting to play Metal Gear Rising: Reveangeance and then I decided to make a similar story where Ichika became a cyborg too but in a universe in a condition identical with Metal Gear Rising's with a few differences.

Here are a few point that my friend and I think to be needing clarification:

1. OOC-ness. Some character are a bit OOC but that's natural due to the different Ichika (who was shaped by what he had gone through). Everyone he had interacted with before the start of the story will be a bit different, ex: Kanzashi being less cold (She's somewhat more like Hannah from Kamidori here), Chifuyu having her warm persona shows more often (the one from the Beach Episodes) and has a weak spot for her brother (she DID indirectly caused his body to be utterly destroyed in this story), Tabane became able to acknowledge some people, etc. Even Rin, Dan, and Madoka is a bit different here. The only ones that Ichika has interacted with prior to becoming an IS Pilot that doesn't change a little bit was Houki (she transferred before Ichika changed) and Tatenashi (rarely interacted with and is too whimsical) but even then, their relationship with their respective sisters were somewhat better.

2. I will only be explaining Metal Gear Rising's event and even then it was to highlight the difference between Raiden and Ichika. The events of Solid did not happens because there was no Patriots/Cipher/MSF/Big Boss, etc. I only take some part from the universe of Rising (namely world condition and technologies) and some technologies from Solid series that was naturally also available to the Rising series. On that note, the theme would still be about a world sustained by war, it won't be prominent until past season one, however. Going by the MG series' of a one word theme, I'd say that this story's will be "WAR".

3. Ichika's power. To people that had played Metal Gear Rising would know how overpowered Raiden is (blocking the blade of and lifting a 300 ton bi-pedal tank, anyone?), as such Ichika's IS would limit him instead (it will become stronger later) and the need to keep secrets from Chifuyu (she would force him to stop if she knew) serves as a 'Drama Preserving Handicap' as people of tvtropes would put it. Not only that he also has some self-imposed limitations and challenges, such as not using HF Muramasa (I changed it here to Muramasa since Murasama is a weird name) unless he really needs it or was angry. The condition and growth of Ichika's IS on particular can be compared to growth of Raiden from MGS2 (weak and wimpy) into MGR (super).

4. Differences from canon. As this is an AU, it's natural that there will be a few differences from canon. An example would be the age difference between Ichika and Chifuyu. In the LN it was stated that when Ichika was still in the first year of elementary school, Chifuyu was in middle school. In this story when Ichika was still in the first grade (6 yrs old or so), Chifuyu was already in High School. The gender inequality also isn't as severe as in canon, they were in fact quite equal but often having frictions when one group thought they were better than the other. I honestly think that the gender inequality has gone too far in canon because it somehow gave women the ability to bypass law when most law and political figures and officers were men.

5. Ichika's sword style. Unlike Raiden, he is properly taught by someone and thus he has a style, albeit constantly modified to suit the situation. The style he will use is called 'Tenshinryu'. It's not based on the real life one but rather the one from the manga Kiyoshiro Yumemizu. It's an extremely strong style revolving on Iaido and Iaijutsu (which the real life's also does if I am not mistaken) that allows someone to cut even steel with a bamboo blade. The one who used it in the manga was even able to cleanly cut through another practitioner of the same style's sword which was an actual sword made from steel. Still, to those who are familiar with the manga might know the style's true meaning and how Ichika was different from Raiden because of it.

That's all the issues I think need to be addressed right now, anyway please review and give some feedback after reading though please be kind about it since this is my first fic.

**Disclaimer:** None of these things are mine, they belong to their respective owners, blablabla, you know the rest. Oh, except the scenarios. Probably. Hopefully. Maybe?

* * *

**Story Start**

* * *

War, war never changes. In this era of cybernetics and nanomachines, war still occurs. It is not obvious like a World War, no, it was 'hidden wars', much like the Afghanistan War or the Gaza War two decades back: Appear in the news for a while, and then forgotten by most. These wars was created for the sake of continuing the war economy.

Of course, everyone wants to take profit in it, but they have the laws and legalities on their way. But they found a way out: Private Military Companies. PMCs are not affiliated to a single country, the same PMC can supply their service to even both side of a war. Moreover, they used Advanced Cyborg Soldiers, Unmanned Gears, and Metal Gears.

Advanced Cyborg Soldiers, they are either soldiers whose brains were implanted to a cyborg body or had their body enhanced with nanomachines and implants. The result was that they can perform much better than non-enhanced soldiers. While it can be a huge scandal if a nation use or developed it, it isn't bothered when it was PMCs the one that use it since they aren't tied to a nation. On that note, only a handful of PMCs were able to actually use them as normal soldiers due to the expensive cost, another reason why nations funds the PMCs secretly instead of making them on their own.

Unmanned Gears (UGs) on the other hand, while isn't a taboo or banned, most types can be quite expensive to create. Most nation doesn't want to invest money in it when some 'Super' ACSs can easily destroy even if it does has it uses. PMCs on the other hand, thanks to their vast funding and backings, they can create a few. They mostly made the cheaper Gekko and Dwarf Gekko variants that is also used by some nation while other made the more advanced Grad, Mastiff, or Raptors. These version however are only effective when there are many of them when just creating one needs cost nearly equivalent to a jet. Although rarely, some of them made the Metal Gear variant although there are laws against equipping any Metal Gear Class Weapons with nuclear warhead.

The Metal Gears. Originally they were defined as 'bipedal tanks capable of launching nuclear warheads from anywhere to anywhere at any time'. As of now they are used to refer giant mechanical weapons. In other word, giant mechas. While they are very expensive to create, they are very effective and is invincible against most opposition except some very powerful explosives, the use of which can get the user into trouble with law and scandal, or 'Super' ACSs, the ones with highly advanced cyborg bodies and nanomachines, which is very rare to find one and can be easily commanded to avoid them.

And then, the Infinite Stratos (IS) was introduced. The creator's, Shinonono Tabane's, objective of creating IS was to 'throw a wrench' on how the world is progressing with its wars. The IS had thrown a wrench with its power. In the White Knight Incident, the White Knight had managed to destroy 2.341 ICBMs. And then when many nations tried to capture/destroy it, it managed to destroy 1051 Gekkos, 231 Tanks, 207 Fighter Jets, 22 Metal Gears, 7 Cruisers, 5 Aircraft Carriers and 8 Satellites. It devastated many PMCs since they were the ones that was hired to capture/destroy it.

And then there's the fact that only women can use it and it also rejects anyone with cybernetics enhancements beyond certain threshold to prevent it from being used as war instrument. The IS was purposely locked by its creator from men because most of the participants in war were men. Moreover, most women refused to use cybernetics on their body due to them loving their body, much less replace it with a full cyborg body. As such, the percentage of women among soldiers were only 1%. The world nearly headed back to the Dark Age with its gender inequality, with women below men. The fact that most law and political figures and officers are men does not help. The IS managed to return the balance back to an equality in gender, even if it was a clumsy and unstable one.

But even with the wrench provided by Tabane Shinonono, the world still tried to resume its wars, this time with IS included. The Alaska Treaty managed to ban the use of IS in military aggressions, whether by Nations or PMCs. Moreover, PMCs are not allowed to have any IS unit or IS core. But, there is no way of truly preventing it from being used hiddenly. The IS cores were registered to a nation, but, there is nothing preventing it from being 'stolen'. They also rarely reported any case of IS core and units being stolen so as not show any weakness.

The result was a repetition of history. Nations had created PMCs as proxy to use ACSs and UGs, now both nations and PMCs created underground organizations as proxy to use the ISs. A total 98 of 467 Cores were 'stolen'. Usage of IS in battlefield would then easily be covered as MGs or UGs that 'happens to have satellite jamming'. The war economy resumes it course in just a few years. Until one PMC, different from others appeared. They are called as Famiglia Bianco Security Consulting Incorporated.

They were only PMCs in name. Their job only consists of training and fortifying a nation's security and guarding someone or something from being targeted. It was the first that is a problem, it reduced the demand for PMCs since the nations are capable of defending themselves now with stronger soldier and the help of ISs, which is allowed to be used for defending from aggressions but banned from being used for any aggression. They also provide some special and unique mid-sized Metal Gear and Infinite Stratos hybrid to some nation although they have stated that they closely monitor each one from being used in aggression. These Hybrids, dubbed 'Metal Stratos', has protections from being reverse engineered so secure it rivals that of an IS Core.

This PMC, although they prefer 'Private Security Provider', were also backed by many nations and organizations, including the UN, as a peacekeeper organization. They tend to do military operation to wipe out underground organizations that seeks to instigate conflict and also destroy many illegal operations and stashing. They are also hired to resolve some conflict since other PMCs tend to just make it worse for their profit. In just 4 years, they have recovered 53 IS Cores, resolved 7 conflicts, destroyed 5 illegal and criminal organization, two among them were PMCs. They are also the only organization allowed to use IS in military operations for their peacekeeping jobs, thanks to their roots in the UN.

However, no one knows who exactly lead them except the members themselves. They are however, known for having the backup of Tabane Shinonono, allegedly because they have the same motive of stopping wars. What is truly known and famous is the 'Bianco Unit', the main force in wiping the conflicts and illegal operations. They are each known by the title "The White Devil of the Violet Sky of Judgment", "The White Ghost Who Spirits Away People Silently", "The White Angel That Protects Sky and Earth", and "The White Ripper Who Rings the Bell of Death". The White Devil is an extremely long-ranged IS that sometime fires from the space, the White Ghost is a long-range IS capable of turning invisible supposedly for 24 hours, the White Angel is a very fast IS capable raining explosives bullet and is suited for both close and long range combat, and the White Ripper is allegedly cyborg strong enough to lift Metal Gears and damages IS easily and also fast enough to give them troubles, most people believe that the White Ripper is an IS user too, however.

They are the ones who is said to lead the organization/company. Only the members and a select few of the top UN officers are privy their face and true identity.

* * *

*SIGH*

The third time he sighed since entering the class. The fact that he had to sigh that much time was depressing, so much that…

*SIGH*

…he made another sigh thanks to it. But it was rather justified in his opinion. All of his classmate are all girls. All of the students in the school are all girls. But more importantly, he's placed in the center front of the class, becoming the center of attention. Even with his experiences, being stared like a rabbit stared by a hungry pack of wolves, is quite a bit… well… not frightening, but it does made him feels uneasy. Nope, not frightened at all. Also, the fact that the WHOLE SCHOOL including the staffs ARE ALL WOMEN really does not help. Really, if he could choose, he'd rather pick dealing with that crazy woman than this situation.

Looking around for his three acquaintances in the class, he gave a pleading look. One coldly ignored him and looked away, another can only give a wry smile, and the last looked distressed and troubled and shakes her head 'nervously'. He had a feeling that the last one is actually enjoying his current predicament. The true reason why he was depressed was actually because none of them try to help him.

_(Shouldn't friends be helping each other?! So cold, ignoring me like that. And the last one…)_

"Everyone's here, right? Then let's start the SHR (student homeroom meeting)-"

He raised an eyebrow at the teacher. It was the one he had 'defeated' in the entrance test for IS Academy. She looks very young, small, petite, but she has a rather 'rich' assets. She wore clothes that doesn't suit her and made her look more like a child, no, more like a kid being forced into adult clothes. The glasses and those large olive green eyes were also a major turn-on point.

_(…I need to stop hanging around older and mischievous women too much.)_

"My name is Yamada Maya, then everyone, let's get along with each other over the next year~"

"..."

However, the classroom was filled with an awkward mood, nobody reacted.

"N-now, let's move on to self-introductions. Mm, we'll go by alphabetical order in western style (first name first, family name later)."

That made sense, he thought, at least half of the IS students are foreigners, although being able to use Japanese Language is a requirement, having to use them for every single thing is just unnecessarily complicating things. Especially for things such as names which may have some vocals that cannot be reproduced by Japanese letters.

He mentally filtered the sounds and start to think about the situation. Ignoring the looks given by his classmate, everything had been going well. He reviewed the plan and the situation while waiting for his turn.

"Ichika Orimura-san"

He stood up and looked around him.

"Err, my name is Orimura Ichika. My Hobby is teasing people and…"

Dramatically inhaling his breath…

"That is all!"

*DANG*

Several girls collapsed onto the floor and the table. They were expecting him to say more, but…

"What? I already said I like to tease people right? In any case I hope we will get along nicely. In a way that does not involve-"

*BAM*

"Ouch, that hurts. Wait, that hit… Chifuyu-nee?"

*SWISH*

He managed to dodge the hit this time because he was ready.

"It's Orimura-sensei at school."

He would have been surprised by her sister, Orimura Chifuyu, working in here if he hadn't asked Tabane about it a few years ago. After all, she was rarely at home, probably once or twice a year, although he had made good 'progress' on her by carefully using those time.

"Orimura-sensei, is the meeting over?"

Turning towards Yamada-sensei who had asked her, both Chifuyu-nee's facial expression and voice took a gentler tone.

"Ah, Yamada-sensei. Sorry for making you do the self-introductions. It must have been difficult for you, especially because of this idiot here."

_(Hey! I'm not an idiot! And it's not fair to treat your colleague that nicely while you treat your brother that coldly!)_

"Listen up, everyone. My name is Orimura Chifuyu and I've been tasked to train all of you in the operations and controls of IS. I expect each and every one of you to remember and comprehend what I will be teaching, no exceptions. To those who don't understand a subject, I will teach it to you again and again until it is engrained into your mind. Understand?"

Normally, a teacher with that type of attitude would scare the students, but this person was quite special…

"KYAAA—! It's Chifuyu-sama, it's the real Chifuyu-sama herself!"

"I've always been your follower!"

"I came to this school from North Kyuushuu because I admired you, onee-sama!"

"I came all the way from southern Hokkaido!"

"I'm so happy to be taught by Chifuyu-sama!"

"I'll gladly die for Chifuyu-sama!"

Chifuyu simply stared at the fanatical girls before covering her face with the palm of her hand.

"...it's really quite a sight to see so many idiots gather here every year. What a surprise? Or is there a special reason? Are these idiots here only to attend my class?"

She wondered aloud but there is a wry smile behind those hands. Ichika smiled since it was because of his hard work that she's not so cold anymore now. During the time she came home, he would devote his time to interact with her, thus making their relationship closer (not THAT kind of relationship of course) and her becoming warmer. From his observation, he concludes that he had made a nice progress on defrosting her.

Once the class had calmed down, she asked him,

"So, even in your introduction you still like to tease and joke around?"

"Why, yes dear teacher. After all, this is the personality my dear sister so enjoy to talk with during her break. Said sister was a really nice one too, never telling her worried little brother what is her job and comes home only twice a year, leaving said brother alone and cold every night."

"Gh, *sigh*, it's not like I didn't want to tell you it's just—""Oh, my, what was that again about 'Orimura-sensei at school', hm?"

She gaped her mouth and closed it, and then sighed again. While she does like his personality for being fun to talk and banter with and also rarely meeting people with his kind of personality, she has to admit that talking with him can be exhausting. Nothing close to her close friend Shinonono Tabane, but comparable. And to her that is an achievement.

"Eh...? Then, it means that Orimura-kun is Chifuyu-sama's younger brother...?"

"Ah~ Great. I really wanted to switch him over."

"Maybe that has something to do with him being the only guy in the world that can use the IS?"

"Wow, he's able to talk back to her like that!"

"They're both so cool!"

And thus another noisy chatters broke out again. All this time Ichika had an idiotic smile on his face while his sister can only frown. Finally her patience limit was struck, something that has improved since 6 years ago however slightly.

"Silence! Now, continue the introductions."

The class immediately silences and continued the introduction. Ichika ignores most of them since he was having fun. There were two name however that struck to him and made him reminisce the past and how it led him to become like now.

"Kanzashi Sarashiki-san."

A girl with blue hairs and unusual hairpin befitting her name stood up, and slightly smiled despite her cool nature.

"My name is Sarashiki Kanzashi, my hobby is reading, that is all."

"Madoka Kaname-san."

"Y-yes. My name is Kaname Madoka, I like drawing and I hope to get along with everyone."

A girl with pink hair in a twintail style and bangs covering her face introduced herself with small and shy voice. He smirk when he saw her seeing that the disguise he chose was effective after all. Only Kanzashi raised a brow at her and that was probably because of her name. He thought that it was fair to give a chance to deduce her true identity so he chose that name.

Sarashiki Kanzashi, she was a very important reason of how he became the way he is now. It was due to an event that also lead her into becoming his third childhood friend. It was the kidnapping of her, the second daughter of the Sarashiki Family and him, the little brother of the World's Strongest Woman.

Kaname Madoka. That was a fake a name. Her real name was Orimura Madoka, Ichika's twin sister. He had given her that kind of disguise because she looks so similar to her elder sister. By giving her hairstyle that covered her face and a shy attitude, it unsuspiciously hidden her face and identity. The name and hair color was chosen just for fun. She was rescued by Ichika just before her mind were broken by the 'mental training' from the ones who kept her and now joins his group.

There is another person that was important to his life in this room but he had missed her introduction when he was reviewing his plans. Her name was Shinonono Houki. She was his childhood friend, his first childhood friend, and the sister of Shinonono Tabane, the inventor of IS and the one who gave him his body. Both were very important to him although the latter played more role in his life.

He began to reminisce about the past while waiting for the introductions to finish.

* * *

He was just watching the Mondo Grosso Tournament television in his house, waiting for his sister's victory. And then suddenly, he heard the sound of tracks stopping rapidly followed by the door being bashed when several large man wearing black suits grabbed him and covered his mouth with a handkerchief. He then passed out.

Later he woke up, tied to a chair. Since he couldn't move he reviewed the situation and looked at his surroundings to find something he can use. What surprised him was that there was another girl, only 3 meters away from him, also tied to a chair but was still unconscious. He called at her with small voices so as not to alert their captors. Finally, after a minute, she woke up.

"Ugh… What… Happened?"

"Thank goodness you're okay. We seem to have been kidnapped."

Being said that they were kidnapped made the girl panicked and almost screamed if he hadn't stopped her.

"Shh, don't scream. We don't want to alert them."

"But, but,"

"Just stay calm alright? I'll help you, I promise. Now, is there anything around you that can be used to open these ropes or at least free our hands?"

The girl, calmed down by the boy then looked around her. She saw a can of oil a bit faraway. After being told about it, Ichika knocked the chair down and fall with it, he then crawled toward it so that he could use it as a lubricant so that he can free his hands. The girl's remaining fear vanished when she saw how hard the boy fought so that he can be free, even if he needs to crawl on the ground. Feeling admiration for the boy, she told herself to be brave like him.

"Ah, finally! Alright now I'll untie you."

After being untied, they tried to open the door but unfortunately the door was locked. There were no other ways out. The ventilations and windows were too high and even with their chairs they still can't reach it. The girl was depressed but the boy was still determined. Finally the girl asked him.

"Hey, what is your name?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm Orimura Ichika. How about you?"

"Sarashiki Kanzashi. Say, are you related to Orimura Chifuyu?"

"Yeah."

Ichika finally realized why he was kidnapped.

"I see so that's why they kidnapped me. They want to use me to get to Chifuyu-nee!"

"*gasp* They must have kidnapped me too because of my family. They, they must've thought that since unlike my sister I'm still not too good with IS they can just kidnap me."

She realized why she was kidnapped too. And it really depressed her that it was because she was not as good as her sister she was kidnapped. They then keep silent for a while until Kanzashi asked Ichika again.

"Hey, do you love your sister?"

"Of course I do. Why?"

"Isn't she's much stronger than you? I mean, my sister's stronger, smarter, more talented and more outgoing than me. If it was her, I'm sure she could find a way out of here or at least give a few help. I feel useless compared to her."

"*sigh* Don't compare yourself to her, you're not your sister after all. I also had compared myself to with my sister but she's naturally better than me in all area. That's why, I want to find my own path, my own way to shine. And since she's an IS Pilot, I thought of becoming an IS Technician. And then I want to shine there and also help her somehow. I don't know, maybe creating a new Generation of IS or just becoming her personal technician. But what I'm sure is that I will find my own way to be a great star like her."

Kanzashi was amazed by the boy. He's the same age as her but already had such an outlook toward his life. She then thought about what she can do. Even if she wasn't her sister and wouldn't be able to become like her, she was still part of the Sarashiki family, the family who owns the Sarashiki company, the head developer of IS Technology in Japan. Maybe she too could become an IS Technician to help her family, and if she does maybe she and Ichika can work together. Together… she blushed at that thought.

_(No, no, it's still too early there are some stage that have to be passed first and then- what am I thinking?! I've only just met him! But he is cute and cool and handsome and dependable and strong and, and, what's going on my mind?!)_

Meanwhile, when Kanzashi was daydreaming, Ichika was still looking around for something they could use. He thought about banging the door but it will only make the kidnappers angry and ready when they come in here. He looked around to find something to use, maybe a something to be made a makeshift rope… he looked at the rope that was used to tie them but even combined they were too short. While Kanzashi was still daydreaming, he analyzed his surroundings but could only complain due to the lack of anything usable.

_(Come on, isn't there's anything I can use here? Why are there only trashes like alcohol's bottle, magazines, lighters…)_

"Wait, that's it!"

His shout brought Kanzashi back to reality.

"Sarashiki-san, go near to that ventilation, now!"

She did what he said and looked at him curiously as he started to pile all papers, magazines, brochures and the likes near the door, also slipping some through the gaps in the door and then he seems to be pouring water, no, alcohols to it. She was then surprised when he ignited the pile of papers with a disposable lighter and finally understood he was going to do.

"W-what are you doing!?"

"Hm? Ah don't worry, with this, they would have to go here but would still not be ready and prepared thanks to the fire. Also, in their hurry, I'm sure they will knock away the piles of paper and give us a safe passage."

Ichika said as he went to the same spot Kanzashi was sitting. The plan was reckless but she could see that it was a calculated risk. She was also sure that the kidnappers would surely come here to check here if there is a fire going on. And then they were proved right.

"What's going on here?!"

The moment the man entered Ichika rushed towards him. The man was surprised and off guard, and due to the fire and smokes, he didn't noticed Ichika until he was too close. Ichika, having thought about how to subdue him carefully, quickly punched his crotch with both hands and then kicked it with all his might. When he fell, Ichika felt a something hard beneath his suit. He quickly grabbed it, which was a gun, and after pulling the safety, shot it to the man's temple.

*BANG*

The gun was thrown away by the recoil since he didn't hold it correctly. But that doesn't matter, Ichika was shaken. How could he not? He had killed a man. Even if it was self-defense, even if it was to protect his and another's life, he still had killed someone.

"O-Orimura-san, are you okay? D-did you kill him?"

Kanzashi's voice brought him back to reality. He need to get out here quickly. It was good that the gun used suppressor and the ambient noise of the fire further hides the loud noise of the gun but even so, they still need to get away quickly.

"Yeah, I'm okay. And yes, I guess I killed him. So, I'm a murderer now, huh?"

"No, you're not! Even if you killed someone, you did it to defend me! You're a hero!"

"…Thanks Kanzashi. Now, we need to get away."

She blushed when he called her by her first name. She further blushed when he grabbed her hand. They then ran through the warehouse, using indirect route and exploiting the run-down condition of the warehouse. They went through rooms, broken windows, crawled through holes. Ichika chose that way because he doesn't want them to be spotted. It took nearly an hour until they finally found the exit due to the way their choice but in exchange, they weren't spotted at all.

"There! It's the exit!"

They were glad that they found the exit. But naturally, Finagles' Law (more commonly known as Murphy's Law) interferes with it when the kidnappers found them.

"There they are!"

"Hey! Hurry up and come here you idiots!"

"Don't let them escape!"

One by one they came. The two of them hide behind a wrecked car. They were only 15 meters away from the exit but the kidnappers had brandished their guns. Ichika looking at the situation simply thought that he should distract them so that Kanzashi could escape.

"I'll distract them! While I do, run and find help, okay?"

"But what about you?"

"I'll be fine, trust me!"

Kanzashi, unable to say anything to change his mind, could do nothing but nod. Ichika then shot one of the kidnappers in the kidney.

*BANG**BANG*

"Watch out! The boy has a gun!"

"Now! Run!"

Just when they were startled by the fact that he had a gun, he told her to run away. He then started to shoot at them again to cover her escape. He didn't know how long he had been shooting until he ran out of ammo. He had been carefully aiming his shots so most of them had hit the kidnappers no matter how slightly it is but he noticed that little by little it's starting to miss since his hand was starting to feel hurt more and more, not mention that he also got a gunshot on his shoulder.

Once again, he looked around, trying to find anything he could use. He keep analyzing his situation and location because his sister told him that to win a battle one must understand oneself, the enemy, the situation, and the battlefield. He knew the limit of his abilities and he knew the enemies' weapons and also had a few ideas of the limit of their abilities, so all that's left was to keep re-evaluating the situation and the battlefield and to make plans based on it.

Ichika might be young, but since his sister saw fit to teach him about war and battlefield from a young age due to the situation of the world, he had an above average mind for combat. One thing that his sister noticed was that while he learns slowly when taught with words, he was a fast-learner when he's taught by experiencing it. She had also said that while his long term memory isn't very good, he has a sharp short term memory and focus in exchange for it.

And he was using those two to memories the layout of the enemies and objects in the room to create a plan. He doesn't need to keep remembering them, once he made a plan he only need to remember his plan. Evaluating the conditions, he made up his plan and began his move.

First, he scraped his shoes on the floor and then throws a knife to the right, near a drum can making it sounds like he's running there for cover. Next, he sneak to the left instead to the nearest fallen man to grab a gun. After checking it, he shot a fuel tank behind the other kidnappers although not before taking another shot into the stomach. It exploded thanks to the fire that was surrounding it. The resulting explosion managed to disable if not outright killing them. He then felt relieve but because of that, he wasn't prepared for what happened next.

The explosion hadn't just killed the kidnappers, it also destabilized the building. The result was that the building started to collapse. And just so happen the first thing that fell hits him. A beam had smashed and pinned him to the ground. Had he still have some strength he would've been able to crawl out it. But he didn't, the beam had hit his back and broke it, the beam crushed his feet, and he had a two gunshots on him, one on his right shoulder, another on his lower abdomen, and his left hand had been hurting since it bore most of the brunt from the gun's recoil and he had used all of his remaining strength to fire his last shot. In fact, if it wasn't for the adrenaline, he was sure he would've passed out long ago. What had held him together was only his will and ignoring the wound and exhaustion by focusing on other things. Now, he felt that there is no hope and there weren't anything to distract his pain and fatigue. He couldn't help but pass out.

On the outside, Kanzashi had been conflicted. Ichika had created a distraction for her to escape and had also told her to find help. But outside she had found herself in an unfamiliar harbor. She doesn't see any phone or anything to contact other people. And then she felt guilty for leaving Ichika alone in the warehouse with the kidnapper who doesn't hesitate to shoot them anymore. She had been hearing many gunshots from the warehouse and it only serves to make her more scared for his life.

On one hand, he had created an opening for her to escape and entrusted her with the task to find some help. On another hand, by doing so she had left him alone against men at least twice their age in a shootout. But then she heard an explosion.

That was the last straw. She couldn't just abandon Ichika just like that. He had killed for the first time just to save her. She was sure that if she was not with him there, he wouldn't have worked that hard to escape and would probably just wait for his sister. No, he had killed and was ready to sacrifice his life just for her. How can she just abandon him?

She ran inside ignoring all the fires.

"Ichika-san! Ichika-san! Do you hear me? Where are you?!"

She yelled his name, hoping that he would reply. She didn't care that it might attract the kidnappers, she doesn't care about the heat, she didn't care about the fires, she didn't care about the smoke making her cough, she didn't care about the heat slowly killing her, and she couldn't care less about herself. What mattered was to find him. To find the boy, the hero who had saved her worthless life.

"ICHIIIKAA! PLEASE ANSWER ME!"

Ichika who had passed out woke up from the sheer intensity of the voice.

_(Who? Kanzashi? Why did you…)_

He let out a groan that Kanzashi heard.

"Ichika-san! Oh my god, Ichika-san, are you okay?"

Obviously he's not okay but it was 'habit' that made her ask that.

"I'm… fine…"

Kanzashi immediately run to him was going to pull him out when he shouted at her.

"LOOK OUT!"

She looked behind her and saw one of the kidnappers is still standing and is aiming at her.

*BANG*

A gunshot. But it wasn't the man's gunshot. It was Ichika's. He was still grabbing his gun when the beam had fallen and had used it to shoot the man. Of course, the recoil twisted his arm. He could even see his bone sticking out.

"*sob**sob*, I-Ichika-san…"

Seeing her shaken up and sobbing made Ichika force himself to calm down and tell her what to do with his remaining strength, even though it should have ran out times ago.

"Just pull me and drag me out. If it get to dangerous, just leave me…"

He then passed out for the second time.

"Ichika-san!"

*RUMBLE*

Seeing that the building was starting to collapse, she immediately start pulling him out.

*CRUNCH*

"Ugh…"

But his shoulder let out a disgusting sound. It was crushed and when she pulled, it made him groan in pain. Kanzashi then pulled him out slowly and carefully by grabbing his chest, then she put his left shoulder on her shoulder, ignoring the bone of the lower arm that she could see. That was after all the only shoulder she could hold since his right shoulder was hurt. She then pulled and dragged him toward the exit but it took a while since there were many obstacles making here had to find alternative way.

Finally, after what seemed to be eternity, they were out of the warehouse. She had not loosen her grip on him even when it was so hot inside. Finally collapsing, the last thing she saw was three star in the sky that was getting closer. She prayed to the star that Ichika would be saved and then passed out too.

**(Scene Break)**

Orimura Chifuyu panicked for the first time in god knows how long. Her brother had been kidnapped. She had abandoned her last match in the Mondo Grosso because it was not worth the life of her brother. After contacting the German for help finding her brother in exchange for her instructing for a year, she immediately used her IS to go the place where Ichika was being kept.

On the way she met two more ISs, initially both side was alarmed but the misunderstanding was quickly resolved when they explained each other's situation. They were the matriarch and the first daughter of the Sarashiki family, and they said that the second daughter of the Sarashiki family had been kidnapped. They decided to work together since they have the same objective and swapped information.

When they arrived, they were surprised to find the warehouse were on fire. Chifuyu then saw something, no, someone moving on the ground near the entrance. It was her brother and a girl who was dragging him who seems to be the second daughter of the Sarashiki family.

"Ichika!"

""Kanzashi!""

She called his name and the two also shouted the girl's name which seems to be Kanzashi. They approached the two of them and checked their condition. The girl had some burns, some first degree, most were of both higher and lower second degree, and she also seems to be exhausted but she was otherwise unwounded. Ichika on the other hand… To say that he was hurt would be an understatement. According to the scanner on her IS, he had a cracked skull, an open spiral fracture on his lower left hand, his right shoulder was crushed, some of his ribs were cracked, his stomach was shot, his spine was also fractured, and both of his leg had an incomplete fracture. She doesn't know whether to be relieved or surprised by the fact that he almost got no injury on his internal organ save his intestines.

They then brought the two to a nearby hospital. She was crying the whole way. She had been careless, leaving Ichika without any security and only minor training. Now it wasn't her who paid the price, it was Ichika. She didn't know whether he will survive or not and even if he does, he probably won't be able to even move anymore due to all of his injury. He would not be able to live normally anymore even if he survived.

After they put both of them in the emergency section, they waited in a nearby bench. Not long after that she was informed that they need to do an emergency surgery on him and asked for her approval. She didn't care so long as it could save his life. It was not long after that she saw someone she never thought of seeing in this situation.

"Hi Chi-chan. How's Ikkun?"

"Tabane…"

She was definitely not in the mood in dealing with her antics.

"Yep, it's me. So, how is Ikkun's condition?"

"Why don't you find out by yourself? You're a genius right? You should've found out by now."

"Usually I would, but I was worried about Ikkun so I immediately head here when I found out about it."

That was unusual she thought. She's actually worried about Ichika and was not cheerful at all. Actually, she seemed sad and angry. Chifuyu had seen her when she's angry, but sad? When her Infinite Stratos was rejected, she didn't even look sad and immediately planned her next move. To see her both sad and angry was definitely something new to her.

"Oh, and I was busy punishing the people who had kidnapped him. Don't worry about them, you won't even find their bone. Now, I really need to know Ikkun's condition. Detailed condition if possible."

She was surprised by how far she went for her brother and her worry over him. To get 'punished' by her… no you cannot call it 'punishment' anymore. It was execution. She rarely got angry but she does… she shudders at the memory. At least when Chifuyu was angry she left some blood or corpse, but when Tabane's angry and did her execution? You wouldn't even find a finger of the victim. She then told her the details of Ichika's condition because she didn't want to provoke her any further.

"I see. Even if his life were saved he wouldn't be able to live a normal life…"

"…"

"Say, Chi-chan? What if I had a way to save him and give him a normal life?"

"What?!"

She was surprised and was also hopeful. If it was Tabane, then surely…

"I can make a cyborg body for him. And unlike other cyborg bodies currently existing, I can make one that actually grows. It will be just like a human body."

Admittedly she didn't thought of this when she heard of a way to save him. Cyborg technology was widely used in war but even then it needs an intact spine. Moreover they cannot grow and quite many of the parts were still machine based. Although some organs were reproduced, there weren't any case of cyborg body that could grow. But this is Tabane she's talking about. She made the Infinite Stratos which in a way, was even more 'unscientific' than nanomachines which was already able to do many unbelievable things.

"So how about it Chi-chan?"

"…Yes. If it was what it take to save him then do it. No… please save him, Shinonono Tabane."

The Sarashiki matriarch and daughter were surprised when they finally realized who was in front of them: Shinonono Tabane, the genius inventor of Infinite Stratos.

"Good. I'm not in the mood to debate with Chi-chan anyway so this makes things easier. I'll be taking Ikkun with me then, I'll bring you once I finished setting the medical equipment to sustain his condition."

"Very well then."

She then went back to seating, somewhat calmer and more hopeful than earlier. She was still feeling guilty of course but she was feeling slightly happier since there is hope for Ichika. Tabane on the other hand went inside the operation room. The Sarashikis didn't felt it was appropriate to ask about Shinonono Tabane so they kept silent.

An hour later, Tabane returned to bring Chifuyu to her lab. The Sarashikis finally stood up and thanked her and her brother for saving their daughter/sister.

"We thank you and your little brother very much for saving my daughter. We will surely repay those deeds."

"I didn't do anything. If you want to repay anything, then do it to my little brother. And make sure she's not kidnapped again. I doubt she will be lucky enough to find another person that can help her if she gets kidnapped again and I myself regret not protecting him better."

"Yes, we will."

"Well then, now that's done, let's go Chi-chan."

They then went out of the hospital. Tabane then teleported them to her lab using an unknown bracelet.

**(Scene Change)**

The operation to give Ichika a cyborg body was a success. It took one day to actually gather all of the materials and made the body but with Chifuyu's help and Tabane's great intelligence it was done easily. The operation itself was done only in an hour. Now they're just waiting for him to wake up. It wasn't until 29 hours later that Ichika woke up.

_(Where…)_

"Oh, Ikkun, you're awake!"

He tried to spoke, to ask her what happened but his throat felt as dry as a dessert in the middle of the day.

"Oh yeah, here's some water."

She gave him a big bottle of water. Even though it felt painful for him to even swallow the water, he still drunk it since his throat was unbelievable dry.

"Ugh, what happened?"

When he asked about what happened, Tabane gave a summary of what happened so far.

"So, I'm a cyborg now?"

"Yep! The best one in the world!"

"I see… and where's Chifuyu-nee?"

"Oh, she had just passed out a few minutes before Ikkun woke up and I had just finished moving to a more comfortable room to sleep nicely. What? Just because this place is a cave doesn't mean I don't have a nice room in it."

It was natural that he doubted her since her lab was actually a cavern. He could clearly see it just by looking at the surroundings. If those stalagmites were fakes, Ichika thought that they need to reclassify Tabane's weirdness.

"Do you want me to wake her up?"

"No… she deserves some rest."

"That's coming from the one who made her tired in the first place."

He just snorted. They then went into silence for a while until he broke it with a question.

"Say, Tabane-nee, what is the effect of Chifuyu-nee abandoning the Tournament?"

She didn't thought that he would ask about that.

"Well… For one, I think it will definitely lower Japan's standing on the world. That would naturally effect Japan's Economy. Even if they said it was only a sport, they actually treat it as a way of measuring the nation's military power combined with that nation's PMC. Since we don't have a PMC and doesn't employ one for our military and rely on IS however, you can say it gave the impression of a weak country. Naturally investors would think twice from investing in our country due to our bad impression and the economic instability that might ensues. Of course there are other effects but the economic effects is the most obvious one and the one that affects people the most."

"I see, so she abandoned many just for me, her family, huh?"

"You can say so I guess."

They then went into silence again. After half an hour Ichika spoke. What he spoke would be something that would alter his destiny forever.

"Say, Tabane-nee, isn't the current world is just too messed up?"

"Huh? Well, yeah I guess."

"I want to change it."

"…Is that so? I've tried to change the world with the IS you know. In the end it's just used for war."

"That can't be helped, it is a weapon after all."

"Yeah. In the end science would always ends up being used for war. So what would you do to change the world?"

"I don't know… but, if creating something can't change it, how about destroying something?"

"So you would drop more blood to change the world?"

By now she was suspicious of why Ichika was acting this way. After thinking about it, she realized that this was probably the side-effect of the anesthetic she used for the operation. It must have slightly suppressed his emotion and messed his logics a bit. Still, she chose to hear him at the very least. He deserved at least that much after what he had done for her 4 years ago.

"That is naturally needed but that's not what I mean. No… the reason the world is this messed up is because of the War Economy and those who seeks to take profit from, including those PMCs."

"So you're thinking of destroying the whole War Economy? That… might actually a good idea. But how?"

"Let's see, the most important sustainer of the War Economy was conflict and the PMCs who supplied for those conflict. So if we made people stop using PMCs and resolve some of those conflicts from the background…"

"We would be able to deal a good damage to the War Economy!"

"But, I need your help Tabane-nee."

"Of course I will help, Ikkun. I too want peace after all. More importantly, I need to pay you back for what you've done for me four years ago."

"Four years ago… erm, what did I do for you back then?"

"My, my, did you really forget about it? I won't tell you if you didn't remember what it is."

Ichika noted that she seems to be genuinely disappointed. He tried to remember about four years ago. After a while he finally remembered it a bit.

"You were crying and… I comforted you back then?"

"Yep. Since you remembered a bit about it, I'll tell you to refresh your memory."

**(Flashback)**

Rejected. Laughed. Humiliated. That was what had happened to the then 16 years old Shinono Tabane. She had revealed her Infinite Stratos but they had laughed at it instead and rejected it. They thought what was the use of a space suit? They said they didn't need it even though it had a lot of potential use and applications.

If that's all they did then she could just get over it. She was a genius after all. What made her feel angry and humiliated was the fact that they laughed at it and STEPPED at the papers and DVDs she had prepared for them. It was the fruit of her hard work for three years after all and they brushed it off and throw it away just like that?

It was infuriating. It was humiliating. But despite all of that, she felt somewhat hurt. It was to the point that she even thought that it was actually her work that had a problem but no. She had reviewed it in her mind and saw that there weren't any problem.

So were they jealous? Yes. Yes, that's probably it. Old men and women who worked hard for their whole life only to be defeated by a girl less than half their ages. She was a real genius after all. No one can deny that. The only people she saw as equal was Orimura Chifuyu who was as strong as Tabane was smart. The others were beneath her.

Yes, there were no need to pay attention to other people who weren't worthy of it. She had paid her attention to those old people and look what she got? Pain. The only people she need to acknowledge their existence were Chifuyu, her sister Houki, and probably Chifuyu's little brother Ichika since he came as a package along with Chifuyu.

With her rage and anger she kneeled in the dirt, not minding the rain and mud at all. She was so angry and deluded in her thought that she didn't notice footsteps approaching.

"Tabane-nee?"

"Kyah! Who is it? Oh it's just you Ikkun. What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was going to play with Houki-chan but she wasn't inside so I try to look around the dojo since she's usually there."

"Un, I see."

"Um, Tabane-nee, were you crying?

"Eh, n-no way! I never cry, I am the always cheerful Shinonono Tabane after all."

"But there are tears coming out of your eyes."

"E-eh? N-no way."

She checked with her hands and found that he's telling the truth. She really was crying. She was actually feeling sad. It was foreign, it was alien to her. She never knew how painful sadness could be so she never thought the pain in her chest to be sadness. She was too deluded in her anger that she never realized it until he pointed it out.

"B-but *sob* why should I *sob* how could *sob* I-I'm the always cheerful Shinonono Tabane *hic*"

Ichika seeing her like that decided to hug her. His sister had always told her to treat girl nicely after all. Especially when she was crying, as a man he must at least try to comfort her, she said.

"E-eh? I-Ikkun?"

"I-I don't know what makes you so sad Tabane-nee. I don't know what to say so I will just do this. If you want to cry, you can cry Tabane-nee as long as you want Tabane-nee."

He simply just hugged her. He was just a five years old kid. He didn't know what to say. But what he remembered was that her sister would comfort him by hugging him and telling that he can cry when he want to cry but as a man he must eventually stop crying and then stand on his own. Since she was a girl, it's fine for her to cry as long as she want, right?

"I-Ikkun, I, *sob* huuuaah."

She finally can't hold it anymore and cry in his arm under his umbrella.

"I don't know what to do! They keep laughing at me and they kicked my research like it was worthless! It's too painful *hic**hic*."

She cried all her heart. Even if they were beneath her, it was still painful to see the fruit of three years, three years of non-stop hard work. She had ate in her lab, wrote all the time at school even when her teacher was teaching and got lectured a lot because of it, experimented so many times she could count the times she spoke with her little sister during those times easier, sold many of her personal things for her funding and learned how to get money from trading stock and lands. She had put so many hard work, so many feelings, so many love into her research but they, laughed, and, even, kicked, it? Like it was trash? She felt all of her heart was broken because of it.

They didn't know how long it was, but eventually she calmed down after crying all her heart out. By then the rain was starting to slow down.

"*sob* Thanks Ikkun. For comforting me."

"It's no problem. A guy have to help a girl after all, that's what Chifuyu-nee said."

"I see. You will be a good man when you grow, Ikkun."

"Thanks Tabane-nee. So, why were you crying?"

She looked at him. He probably wouldn't understand anything she said. But she felt she should just tell him about it. After all, if letting out all of her sadness would lift a lot of weight out of her chest, maybe talking about it to him would make her feel better.

She told him about the Infinite Stratos. Its purpose, the theory behind it a little bit, how hard she worked for it, and the reaction of the people she presented it to. During the story, he listened to it intensely. He changed between looking confused, amazed, and angry. She needed to calm him down a bit when he was angry with how those people treated her research but it somewhat made her happy when she was him getting mad at them because they made her sad.

"And that's why they throw away my research."

"Um, I don't really understand but, they said that they had no time to make it thanks to the war, right?"

"Yes. I can sort of understand their reason, but I can't forgive how they treated it like it was a joke and a trash."

"Umm… then how about making it usable at war?"

"Usable at war? Maybe, but I don't want to help make more war. I don't want it to be used for killing."

"Then how about making it looks like it can be used in war to make them interested, but can't be used for hurting people?"

"What do you mean, Ikkun?"

"Umm, well, let's see, ah! How about showing how powerful it is but make many limitations? Like one of those moves I saw some superheroes used on my favorite tokusatsus?"

"That's… actually a good idea."

And if she played her cards right, she would also disrupt the wars along with it. Who thought that speaking to a child could give her a good idea? She thought of a plan: Hack some weapons, preferably missiles and aim it at Japan. Then ask Chi-chan to pilot a weaponized version of her IS and tell her to intercept it. Then she would destroy some PMCs assets and weapons, maybe a few Metal Gears, and then escape. Of course, she must also not kill anyone to prevent a war against it. If Chi-chan pilot it, then it would surely be possible. But…

"If I do that… I would make many enemies. Some might hail me as a great scientists but some others… not to mention if they rejected it because it was too dangerous instead…"

She was starting to see the bad side of her idea. Ichika who saw that she was starting to become gloomy again thought that he need to say something, anything to assure her so that she's cheerful again, just like when he had said how bad those old people were and that she was the good side while they were the evil one for making her cry. He then found what to say.

"Don't worry about those people! If those old people would do evil things to make Tabane-nee cry again, I would help you! I don't know what I can do, but I promised that I will be on your side even if everyone else become the evil ones!"

"Ikkun…"

She hugged him and cried again. This time out of happiness. For the first time, for the first time in her single life someone had said that they would help her, even if the whole world is their enemy. She knew that he said those words just to cheer her up and that he was not thinking when he said those words. But she doesn't care. At last someone said that they would always be on her side. Not even her parents, her sister, or even Chifuyu had said those words to her. She was truly happy, probably for the first time too she was happy. Not satisfaction from achievement, but actually felt happiness from deepest of her heart. It seems that today had a lot of first time and unexpected things for her.

"Thank you, Ikkun. I will hold you into that promise then."

"Un. You can count on me Tabane-nee!"

"Ikkun, at this you will surely grow into a wonderful young man."

"Thanks Tabane-nee."

"For the sake of the Shounen H Plan, please keep being a nice boy alright?"

"Shounen H?"

"N-no, it's nothing."

She was feeling confused. She felt her cheek getting warm and her heart pounding faster. Was she, was she feeling embarrassed? To a little boy? And what the heck did she just say? Shounen H Plan? That plan was the plan to…

_(No, no, you mustn't! Houki likes him! But if I managed to do the Shounen Hikaru Genji Plan…)_

She imagined if she was successful. And she cannot hold her nosebleed from it. She then looked at Ichika with intense eyes and now cannot hold her drool. Ichika on the other was feeling scared from how Tabane looked at him.

"U-umm, Tabane-nee? Your eyes look scary. Also, you're drooling and have nosebleeds."

"Heh? Huh? O-oh, sorry."

She wiped her mouth and nose with her sleeves but was still feeling embarrassed when she looked at him. It took her a while to calm down. Ichika then noticed the times and remembered that his favorite show was going to play soon, totally forgetting his original intention of coming here.

"Oh, yeah, my favorite show is going to play soon. See you later Tabane-nee."

"Uhn, see you later."

"Oh yeah,"

He came back to her after a few steps. He then gave his umbrella to her since he didn't want her to get wet.

"Here, you can keep my umbrella. I don't want you to get a cold. Anyway, see you Tabane-nee."

"Ah, Ikkun!"

She wanted to say that he needs it more than her since the rain was starting to pour down again. In the end she remained there, looking at the sky. After calming down, she made up her mind. She would prove how amazing her work was to everyone. She would also try to 'throw a wrench' in the current progress of the world, maybe she could halt the war for a while although she didn't believe she could stop it.

She then went back to her house to get a bath. Then she would need to work hard, she need to modify her Infinite Stratos and find a way to convince Chi-chan to help her.

_(Ah busy, busy. So many things to do. Ah well, I'm not in a hurry anyway, I'll just do it on a nice pace.)_

**(Flashback End)**

"I see… I kind of forget it."

"Well, that can't be helped, you were still so young back then."

Although she was still disappointed.

"Of course, I will still keep that promise, but…"

"But?"

"What is the Shounen H Plan? I kind of feels some… dread from it."

Tabane was surprised, she thoughts he would force her to help him or something but to ask her that… and he was still under the emotional suppressant side-effect of the anesthetic too. He must really felt fear and curious about it.

"Umm, maybe sometime. More importantly, are you sure about what you were going to do?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"…You know, one of the effect of the anesthetic I used during the operation was that it suppress your emotion and messed your brain a bit. Let's think about it for a while and I will ask you again once you have recovered and thought about with your emotion. For now, I will wake up Chi-chan."

"Yeah, sure."

She then went out of the room while Ichika just thought about what he want to do and whether he truly want to do what he said or not. He resolved himself, he must do it. Even if he can't do much, maybe his hard work would amount to something. After all, Tabane-nee had proved just how far hard work could take you even if she had talent backing it up.

Chifuyu-nee then came in and apologized to him while crying. He didn't blame her. He was ready to be sacrificed for the sake of many back then but he was saved instead. Rather than angry, he was thankful for her. It gave him the belief of how important family was.

_(Hmm, family huh?)_

**(Scene Change)**

He looked around and saw many people older than him around. And he needed to give a speech to them. Fantastic.

_(Just how the hell am I supposed to give speech to them?)_

She looked at Tabane-nee just behind him and she just smiled. It was a mischievous smile. She had staged this. And he couldn't run away.

_(*sigh* alright let's get this over with.)_

As he climbed the podium, he remembered of how it came to this. This was the result of his plan to change the world after some discussion with Tabane-nee. They simply thought of making a PMC that works to reduce nation's dependency on PMCs. He had asked Tabane-nee to recruit just a few dozen at first but he want all of them to share the same sentiment with him. He also asked if it's possible, he also want some of them to have been wronged by the world to give them a second chance at life and a chance to change the world that had wronged them.

The result was this PMC, the Famiglio Bianco Security Consulting, Inc., a PMC that is more of a 'Private Security Provider' than a 'Private Military Company' that Tabane had somehow managed to assemble in just two month. Of course, that's only a part of the organization. The other part, the underground part, was that they were a group that eliminates conflict and illegal operation. It was illegal, true, but Tabane-nee said that she's working to get the UN's silent approval to do those things.

He did not told Chifuyu-nee about this however. He was sure that she would have prevented him from participating in the missions. Worse, he might not even be allowed to do anything in here and forced to only watch, while at worst maybe not participating at all. He didn't want that. He want to actively participate since it was his idea to begin with.

Speaking of Chifuyu, their relationship had been a bit distant. She was rarely at home, only once in a month at most. It had been six month since that accident and during those times, every time he spoke to her he noticed that she looked sad and guilty. He thought that he would need to ask Tabane-nee about what to do later.

Finally reaching the podium and standing with a cardboard box, he started his speech.

"I thank you for choosing to join us in this organization. Now, I'm sure some of you are thinking why a little child is starting a PMC and an NGO. You can say that I too had been wronged by the world. I simply choose to fight back. To change it. So that there will be less bloodshed. I have no delusion of being able to stop every war. It is human nature. But I believe that if I had everyone's help, I can at least stop some wars, prevent others, and save some people no matter how few it is. And so, that is why I had asked you all to join and help. You all have the same sentiment as me, some were also wronged by the world. Those sentiments, if you only hold it alone without others' help, then you will not make a single change. Instead, now that we all gather here, we can help each other with that goal. To change the world. This PMC, no, this 'Private Security Provider' and Non-Governmental Organization has that goal in mind. Now, why would I name it Famiglio Bianco? Because I want you to be family. Because a real, a true family never abandon each other. Look at the world. How many has it abandoned? Some of you were abandoned by it too. Now, in this 'family', we do not abandon each other. We help each other because if we don't, then we will surely lose in the fight against this cruel and twisted world. That is all I have to say."

After the speech that he delivered in English, which in his opinion was somewhat lengthy and very nerve-wrecking in his opinion, he stepped down. Truthfully, it surprised him when he they all clapped and it made gave him relief that the speech he had just made an hour ago when Tabane-nee had surprised him by saying that as the leader he would have to give a speech.

Afterwards, Tabane had organized and gave their assignments. After she gave all of them their assignments, most of them had went to their station. The exception was five people. These people were the ones that would train Ichika since he still only had little to no skill at all.

Ichika looked at them on by one. The first was David Hayter, he would train him on close quarter combat, handling guns, and covert missions. He had an eyepatch on his right eye and a brown hair. The second was Paul Dobson, he would teach him about using sword, specifically of the style 'Tenshinryu' which has a lot of emphasis on Speed, Iaido, and Iaijutsu. He had a messy blonde hair and seems to be quite cheerful. The third was Junichi Sugiyama, he would teach him more in depth about battle, from battle tactics, how to read the enemy, how to use the battlefield, etc. He had a dark skin and a red hair, although he usually frowns, he is quite a nice guy. The fourth was Natasha Fairs, she would teach him about how to fight against an IS. He was a bit uncomfortable with her since she had the same eyes as Tabane-nee when she said something about 'Shounen H'. The last one was obviously Tabane-nee. She would teach him about many knowledges, she said. Tactics, Technologies, Politics, Languages, many things. She seems to be handling all the non-physical things.

Ichika would learn from these five and once he had learn enough, he would then be allowed to participate in the mission.

**(Scene Change)**

Three years later, he had made a name for himself. The White Ripper. He was called that because of a side-effect of the nanomachines he used when activating the full capabilities of his cyborg body that turns his hair white and slightly longer and because of his tendencies to rip his enemies into pieces with his High Frequency Blade and also his codename, Jack (which caused Tabane to call him Jackie-chan during missions).

He had just finished his trainings with Snake, Mr. Bushido, Archer, and Natasha. Those were the codenames of his instructor, except for Natasha since insists to be called by her name instead of her codename, Gabriel. It was rare to have all of them available for training in a week again, much less a day, since all of them including Ichika had been busy.

They had gained a few more members and collaborators now. Some notable people among them were: Justicia Alcott, the matriarch of the Alcott family, she was saved by Ichika although her husband, Charles Alcott, had already died by the time he got there. Clarissa Harfouch, leader of the Schwarzer Hase unit, she was recruited by Tabane due to her hatred of how the German had experimented with many children including her. Cristopher Randolph aka Otacon, an old friend of Snake or David Hayter, who were the creator of Metal Gear REX, the first widely known Metal Gear. Of course, there are many more people they had recruited but those were among the most important people.

Ichika was now heading to the joint lab of Tabane and Otacon. When he was heading there he met their respective 'pupil' just behind the door, playing.

"Yo, Chris-chan, Ku-chan. What are you doing?"

"Ah! Ichika-nii! Ku-chan and I were playing construct with these IS parts."

"Do you want to play too?"

"Maybe later. Tabane-san had told me to meet her."

"Oh, I see, see you later then, Ichi-nii."

"Yeah."

He sighed when he was a bit faraway. They were kids, but they were both a genius thanks to their 'teacher/parent'. They even treated assembling IS parts as 'playing'. He cannot believe how much their respective 'parent' had 'corrupted' them.

Christina Randolph and Shinonono Kurenai, both were a child that was in an experiment to create cybernetically enhanced IS Pilots. When they had stopped the experiment, both Otacon and Tabane had each taken one of the top two child in the experiment because they were also the ones that were most traumatized. They had become relatively normal now but as a price… they also became genius like their caretaker. It was a good thing that he liked to interact with them or god knows how worse they would turn out.

_(Still, the naming was honestly uncreative though. Kurenai's name wasn't that bad… until I realized Tabane-san had named her Kurenai so that it rhymes with Christina(kurisuchina)'s)_

Finally he met the one who called him.

"Hey, Ikkun! What took you so long?"

"Sorry, kept you waiting, huh? Well, I was talking with the children you both 'corrupted'."

"Hey, I did not corrupt my daughter, it was Tabane!"

"And you were the one who corrupted her."

"It wasn't my fault. She's the one who started to like animes and video games. And despite my collections, I'm just a collector, not a maniac."

"Pfft, whatever you say, Doc."

Otacon was much easier to talk with than Tabane. He would also say things in layman's term. The only thing unpleasant would be if you hit his landmines: anime, manga, video games, and other Otaku related things. For all his supposed 'not a maniac', when you got him talking about them, he would become a motor mouth and speak about it non-stop.

"Well, enough jokes Ikkun."

"I wasn't joking."

She ignored him.

"We found something that you might be interested with, Ikkun."

Tabane showed him a holographic monitor with a photo and data in it. When he read it, he cannot suppress his surprise at the information.

"What the hell?! Tabane! How did you found this?!"

"Hum, hum, did you realize who you are talking to, Ikkun?"

"A rabbit loonier than Bugs Bunny."

Otacon answered but again, Tabane ignored the offhand comment. He then look at the information and had a frown on his face.

What was written in it was quite surprising and very unpleasing:

[Orimura Madoka – Twin sister of Orimura Ichika and little sister of Orimura Chifuyu. Currently being kept in a super-secret facility and is undergoing mental conditioning to become a Phantom Task operative. The mental conditioning consists of several cruel VR Missions with each kill done stimulating to her pleasure center and also to make her lose hope in freedom and rescue. The mental conditioning's objective was so that she gain hatred to her brother and sister and to permanently activate the only Orimura bloodline trait she has: A psychotic condition where one enjoys violence, whether it was becoming the victim or the perpetrator of the act. It is nearly complete. Orimura Chifuyu (who had successfully permanently activate the other Orimura bloodline trait: Perfect Physical Conditioning, giving her a very strong natural body) had once tried to escape with her and her brother but was only able to bring Ichika (who had been diagnosed of having both but was still inactive when he had escaped with his sister). The cell she is being keep is now under maximum security.]

"Where is she being kept in, Tabane-nee?!"

"Here, I'll give you the data."

She gave him a folder. It was a mission briefing and directive. Ichika smiled when he looked at it. It seems that Tabane had really understood him well.

"You will be deployed in there in 24 hours. Prepare yourself well and try to calm yourself."

"Thanks, Tabane-nee, I love you."

"W-w-well… T-thank you Ikkun."

Otacon stifled when she stuttered. It was obvious to everyone that Tabane likes Ichika. Ichika however, was, how to put it, as 'dense as ton of brick'. He didn't even realize that he was being teased by them. The other contender for his heart was Natasha Fairs. There was a bet on who would win and the whole organization was split into two shipping, TabaChika and IchiFairs. The fact that the three of them belong to one unit when deployed doesn't help.

"Ah, yeah Ichika-kun, here, take this."

"And this is?"

"OctoCamo+, it's an upgraded version of the OctoCamo Snake is using. I already tested and it works just fine. The Stealth Mode has been increased into up to 360 minutes or 6 hours and the Active Mode can change faster and without reverting to the base form first. I also has loaded it with 25 preset form for the Passive Mode."

"Thanks Otacon, I owe you one."

"It's nothing. It still has not been fully completed but it works just fine. Please give some feedback to me once you're done. On that note, if you break it…"

He smiled very scarily, scaring even the battle hardened Ichika.

"Sir, yes, sir! I won't break it!"

"Good. Now get some rest. You'll need it."

**(Scene Change)**

The mission proceeded smoothly thanks to the OctoCamo+. Despite it was still experimental, it worked very nicely. Ichika only used the Stealth Mode, which made him invisible, while in the interior of the building and used the Active Mode, which allowed him to mimic the pattern behind him a la Octopus hence the name, when he was on the exterior. He only killed by breaking their neck then hiding their body since if he gets blood on the camouflage it would made him visible. He only killed enough so that he can proceed and later escape safely.

Arriving into her cell, he looked at his twin sister. She looked exactly like Chifuyu-nee a few years ago but she looked like she was suffering and nearly broken. According to the information Tabane gave him, the 'mental conditioning' was nearly complete even though she had resisted. In other words, her mind was nearly broken but she was still holding it together by pure willpower. Ichika felt admiration to her and anger towards her captor.

_(No, no… calm yourself, your sword is a tool for justice, not for anger and revenge. And this isn't the time to be angry too, I have to hurry and get her out of here.)_

*SWISH*

He cut all the binds on her. He checked whether she will be waking up soon or not, it will be troublesome if she woke up in the while he was near an enemy. This is a sneaking mission after all, he didn't want to be found or he would have to face a punishment from Snake like the last time he had been found in one. He shuddered at the memories. More importantly, it'll be tough to protect her and battle many enemies at the same time.

_(She doesn't seem to be waking up soon.)_

After making sure of it, he started to sneak his way out. This time he used some throwing knife to help him kill some of the enemies and from time to time he used the Active Mode of the OctoCamo+ to cover Madoka's body. As this was a mission, he didn't have the time to be embarrassed by the act nor could he due to the emotional inhibitors standard to all cyborg. Although admittedly, his heart had beaten a bit faster whenever he did it. Must be the tension since there were always enemy close to him whenever he did it, yes that must be it.

Finally, after what was the most intense sneaking mission he had ever done, he managed to exfiltrate the facility. He also had managed to do the optional objective of locating other captives, scouting the area, and install a backdoor on their security mainframe. In other word, it was a complete success.

Giving a final look at the facility, he then started the teleport device back to HQ. The reason why he didn't used it right after finishing his objectives was because it has a long starting time due to the distance and also because the energy used would've been detected by the enemy since it was similar to an IS'. While his mission was done, he would need to come here again later since there will be a follow up mission to destroy it. After ten minutes, the teleport activated.

**(Scene Change)**

Orimura Madoka was feeling… weird. For the first time in her life she felt warm, safe, and good. Pushing her sleepiness away, she opened her eyes and woke up, expecting another 'training'. She was surprised of course when she found out that she was sleeping in a bed and that there's another person who was holding her hand tenderly.

"Ugh… where am I?"

Looking around, she seems to be in an infirmary. There weren't any other people around other than the two of them. Looking at the boy who was holding her hand, she felt that he looked rather familiar even though she couldn't see his face. He then woke up and raised his head and shown that she had really known him.

"Uhhn… Ah! Madoka-nee! You're awake!"

"Eh?! I-Ichika-nii, why are you here?!"

"That's because I was the one who brought you out of that place after all."

"That place… Wait, I'm not in that prison anymore?"

"Yep, you're free now. Sorry that it took me so long, but you're really free now."

"I-is this a dream?"

*PINCH*

"Kyah! What are you doing Ichika-nii?!"

"Did that hurt?"

"Of course it was!"

"Which means?"

"This… isn't a dream…"

She then hugged him and cry.

"This, this is really happening. I'm finally free. You really came back for me, Ichika-nii."

"Yeah. Chifuyu-nee tried to bring you out too when she escaped with me eight years ago but she failed, so she was only able to take me away."

"That doesn't matter now. You came for me and you have freed me from that hell. They said that both of you had abandoned me but I still held hope that one of you would come. And you really did!"

"I see… It was because you had hold out for that long that I was able to rescue you. You've done great, sis. Good job."

"Un!"

For the first time in three years, he completely turned off his emotional inhibitors and cried after a very long time. The last time he had cried was seven years ago, a few months before that faithful meeting with Tabane that would lead to his current life.

After a while, they both calmed down. Madoka then told him what happened to her while she was held captive, how they tortured her, told her that her brother and sister had abandoned her, kill people in virtual missions and somehow felt good from it. After that, Ichika told her what had happened, why was she enjoying it, how he found out about her and also about his life, his situation, what had made him like that, many events that had happened, and also about his body.

What she had asked him afterwards honestly surprised him.

"Ichika-nii, I want to help too. Can I join you?"

"Eh?! B-but it'll be dangerous!"

"Look who's talking."

"It's fine if it's me!"

"And it's not if it's me? Don't worry brother, I'm not that weak. Besides, I doubt I would be caught in situations as dangerous as you."

"But…"

"Also, what was it again about 'needing others help and alone you can't do anything'? Ichika-nii we're family and I want to help you, my family."

"…Fine. But you have to pass some test first before you can take any mission."

"Sure, thanks Ichika-nii. Come to think about it, between the two of us, who's older?"

"I don't know. I heard we were twins but I don't who came out first."

"Really? Well, it's been weird with both of us calling each other as the older one."

"True. So what do you propose?"

"Well… Say, Ichika-nii, if would you still protect me if I was the older one?"

"Of course. But there's no way I can do that as a 'little brother' so I'll probably have to do it as a man. If you're the younger than I would still protect you as your older brother."

"I-I see. Then I'll just be the older one."

"Sure, whatever you say."

_(Why is her face red? Whatever, she's probably just happy having a little brother.)_

**(Scene Change)**

One year and eleven months later, Ichika had just returned from the hardest mission in his life. He had lost a lot of things in it, he changed his body even more, he had killed many people, he had accepted his Orimura bloodline trait which made him stronger but enjoy killing and he had the hardest fight in his whole life. He even nearly lost his ideal had he wasn't reminded of his friends and families.

He sunk into the bad. Tired. He wanted to just sleep but the door then opened and he saw who came in.

"Tabane…"

"Hey, Ikkun. Sorry, are you tired?"

"A bit, but it's okay. Why are you here?"

"Nothing really. I just thought I should came here. You had it rough in the last mission after all."

"Yeah…"

They remained silent for a while. Their relationship had changed a few months ago. They finally become a couple (much to the joy of the TabaChika shippers). On that note despite becoming a couple, they still haven't even had a kiss with each other.

Ichika's last mission made Tabane worried. His last mission was to save many children from being turned into soldiers by the PMC Desperado and World Marshall and to stop Armstrong plan to create another war, this one against terrorism. The problem from that war was that the PMCs would take advantage of that situation and that Armstrong would turn America into a 'might makes right' country where 'the weak shall be purged'.

What truly troubled Ichika was that Armstrong, with his last breath, had said that they were not so different. They want the world to change and for the better too. They were willing to kill a few for it. They both followed their own path and destroy anyone who tried to stop them. What set them apart is that Armstrong wanted to purge the weak while Ichika wanted to protect the weak.

In the end however, their only difference were their path. He wanted freedom for everyone, so that they can live their lives and carve their own path, Ichika also wanted for everyone to be free and have a chance to choose their own path too. They even both wanted to stop the wars and its economy too in the end. They had the same ideals but different views about it. Armstrong was insane, in his opinion, he wanted to kill everyone and there was no way Ichika would approve of that.

And when he had killed him, Armstrong had approved him and told him that in the end they were the same. His approval filled him with shame while his words filled him with doubts. That's why he was feeling tired. He was tired physically, mentally, and emotionally. He wanted to just give up but it was Armstrong's own words that somehow made him doesn't want to give up. He had entrusted the future to him, to carve his own path, to not stop no matter who try to stop him, even if it would cost a few lives.

Finally, he spoke his worries to Tabane, just like many times before as he found Tabane to be a good problem solver and listener. Well, she was a genius after all.

"Tabane… I'm tired."

"Of what? Of fighting?"

"Yeah. But at the same time, I still want to fight. I don't know what to do."

"…Then how about taking a rest?"

"A rest? While everyone is still fighting? While everyone who had gathered because of MY WISH is still fighting?"

"Yes. Ikkun, no matter how many mission you've gone, you're still a young child. No matter how old you are mentally, you're still a boy. You need a rest. No, you deserve some rest."

"But I don't want to just stop fighting… not while everyone is still… not when so many entrusted their hopes to me…"

Tabane closed her eyes for a while, thinking. She then opened her eyes and give him his solution, just like other times they had talked.

"Then what if there is a way to both rest and fight at the same time?"

"What? How?"

"In a few month you're going to go to high school, right?"

"Yes. I'm planning to go to an average high school so that I can have free time to do some missions, why?"

"You see, there is a high school with an entrance exam in the Community Center in Tokyo. At the same time another academy are also doing entrance exam in there: the IS Academy."

"Wait, you're not telling me to…"

"Enroll in the IS Academy? Yes. You can have a relatively normal high school life there barring some incident that you would naturally invite with your bad luck…"

Ichika sweat dropped at this. Although it was true that he had abysmal luck most of time.

"At the same time, you will be gaining more power and skill there and might find some nice recruits there."

"I see your point, but how am I going to pilot an IS?"

"I'll just have to re-adjust your cyborg body. You see, I had locked the IS from men and also women with too many enhancements because I don't want it to be used for war. As the one who had locked it, of course I can unlock it. Besides, this way, when it's time to reveal your identity as the White Reaper, the Bianco Unit can finally be an all IS team!"

The Bianco Unit, that's how people called his team which consists of him, Natasha with her Silverio Gospel, Tabane with her Raging Heart and Madoka with her Silent Zephyrs.

"…That would ruin the public's view, Tabane…"

"Oh, c'mon! We can just cover it up! They were able to cover the use of IS in military as UGs or Metal Gears, we can surely hide it! Besides, you had always used a mask anyway so most people doesn't know your identity."

"*sigh* Despite how crazy it is… and ignoring all the loony parts…"

"Hey! That's mean, I was serious!"

"It seems that I have to agree with your point. I really need some rest, I don't want to break myself. Last mission had broken enough of me. And I've really changed from how I was back before I started too. I don't want to change for the worse, so maybe interacting with normal people would help."

"So, you agree with to do it?"

*NOD*

"Good, now can we sleep together?"

"T-Tabane! W-we haven't even kissed!"

"If you want I can do it now. Besides, it's just sleeping, you're not think anything naughty aren't you, hm?"

"N-no way. I-I'm just a kid there's no way I would think about anything naughty, yes, no way."

"What a suspiciously specific denial. Eh, whatever, let's sleep."

Unable to do anything against her, he was pushed down to the bed. Needless to say, he was unable to sleep while Tabane quickly snored besides him. Or so he thought.

*CHU*

Just when he thought Tabane had slept, she kissed him on the lips. After a few seconds, Tabane lifted her lips.

"Hehe, we won't be seeing each other for a while. I don't want other girls to claim your first kiss while I was not with you. Now, let's sleep! We will need a lot of energy to scheme the details of our magnificent plan tomorrow!"

While she was quickly asleep since she was satisfied, Ichika obviously took a lot more time to sleep. And all those time spent awake he had his heart beating very fast and very conscious of Tabane's body, especially those melons. After the most nerve wrecking eternity in his whole life, he finally fell asleep. It was the best rest he had in ages.

* * *

And that's what led to him standing, er, sitting here in the classroom of IS Academy. He gave a glance at all three people plus his older sister who had each played a part in turning him into the way it is. He was not angry all, he was grateful instead since he does not believe his ideal and how he lives right now to be a mistake.

On the subject of his plan, he would still have to do a lot of work, but for now, he thought of just thanking them. He had already thanked his older sister before coming here so it just left those three.

When the first class was over, one of those three came to him.

"…Excuse me for a moment."

It was Shinonono Houki, the little sister of Shinonono Tabane, whom introductions he had missed.

"Yes? Ah, can we talk in the corridor? You go first I've got something to do first."

She went ahead of him after nodding. After that, he called the other two to go outside with him too. When he had arrived, he saw that Houki was frowning, surely not expecting him to have brought other people too.

"Yo, Houki! Sorry it took so long, I was calling these two first, they were my friends too. Kanzashi was my third childhood friend while Madoka was a good friend of mine. So, what do you want to talk about?"

"…"

"*sigh*, oh yeah, congratulation on winning last year's kendo competition"

After Houki heard him said that, her mouth immediately became the shape of a 'へ', and her cheeks turned red.

"Why do you know that?"

_(Because your sister told me so enthusiastically and made me re-watch it so many times.)_

"I read it in the newspaper. Oh yeah, you still have those hairstyle I see, I recognize you immediately because of it. Not that you two doesn't have distinct hairstyle too."

Houki was blushing even harder when she had said it, while Kanzashi rolled her eyes since she realized he was referring to her hairpin which was definitely unique and Madoka was only laughing wryly.

"Anyway, since you doesn't seem to have anything to say, then I want to say something to all of you."

They all paid attention at this.

"Thank you very much, if wasn't for all of you, I wouldn't be who I am today. All of you might have thought that you have done nothing but each of your presences had influenced a lot of my life and turn it the way it is now. For that, once again, I thank you all"

*SWOOSH*

They were silent as then wind blows through the air while they were hearing him. They never thought that they have done anything for him so naturally they were surprised when he had thanked them all. Finally, the bell brought them back to reality.

*DING**DONG**DANG**DONG*

"Oh, the break is over. Alright let's return to class now. I'm going ahead alright?"

He went ahead of them while they were still there standing there. Kanzashi broke the silence.

"So… you were his first childhood friend, huh? I see that you know him the first but if you think I would give him to you just because of that then you are sorely mistaken."

"W-what?"

"Ichika-kun had saved me a long time ago and we had known each other for quite a while. I love him because of many reasons. That is why, I won't give him to someone who isn't even honest with herself."

"Y-you…"

She then went ahead back to classroom. Houki was surprised and also angry at her words, while Madoka only laughed 'nervously'.

"A-ahaha… w-well I'm not exactly a contender for his heart so… well… may be the best girl win?"

After saying that she also went back to the class while Houki returned a while later. Meanwhile, from afar, Chifuyu can only sigh at the event that had occurred. She had arrived just when he had started to go back to the classroom so she doesn't know what made the girls so riled up.

"*sigh*, you really invites trouble, little brother. Especially problem with girls."

She then went into the classroom and started the second lesson.

* * *

**Chapter End**

* * *

**Afterword:**

Well, there goes the prologue. I pretty much want this chapter to finish the essential flashbacks for Ichika. Some character specific flashback will be given later. Everyone will have their day in the limelight, even Dan later.

Oh yeah, I will probably put many references to other series and fanfics. I'm sure that you've noticed that there were some familiar elements up there, I either add it for fun or as a way of honoring stories I like which were also the ones who gave me inspirations.

The Madoka Kaname was added for fun since those girls probably rarely watch animes, especially 'old' animes. Also, Tabane becoming a bit of an Otaku was a way to make her crazier to offset her less crazy sides that will appear more often here. Not to mention, turning her into a Nanoha when fighting is quite an amusing thought. "Raging Heart! Zenryoku Zenkai! Starlight Breaker!" and since her seiyuu was the same…

On the subject of Madoka, if you're wondering how she looks, try finding Kriemhild Gretchen in the Puella Magi wiki and look at the fanart below. You should have a few ideas of how she looks and you're free to choose which one is the 'closest' one, though I'm more leaning to either 'Dark_ ' or 'Dark_madoka_fanart_gretchen_ '. My idea of using it mostly came from the H-Doujin (so it's NSFW) Ankoku Puella Magi (hm, beautiful title) which Madoka's was very similar to IS's Madoka (yeah, go on, read it, it's a wonderful story) thanks to seeing her parent's bdsm play (yeah, read it, definitely a good idea).

The Bianco Unit was pretty much based on the Gundam Meisters. Raiden is the Setsuna, Natasha the Allelujah, Tabane the Lockon (when doing Orbital Sniping) or the Tieria, and Madoka the Tieria (When Tabane does Orbital Sniping) or the Lockon. They won't appear as a Unit until season one's event is finished, though.

Oh, yeah, the rating will definitely be changed to M later but for season one I think it'll be T unless I decided to change my plans. Also, if you wonder why I put this in the regular sections, that's because this is still an Infinite Stratos story with elements from Metal Gear Rising due the world branching into a similar direction in the past. Despite all the cameos and all that, I don't feel it's appropriate to call this a crossover since it isn't a proper combination of two universe or a character crossing to other series. Simply put this is Infinite Stratos + WAR theme + Technologies from MGR + Cameos with different names.

Do review and give feedback, but be nice and polite about 'kay~

* * *

Extra: Timeline of "Infinite Stratos: Rising". Note that many of the events were related to the yearly schedules of schools in Japan.

2005 – The creation of the first Metal Gear.

2009 – Start of PMCs and War Economy.

2012 – The first experiments of creating Cybernetic Organisms.

2021 – Tabane and Chifuyu was Born.

2024 – Cybernetics technology has mainly became stable, fully operational, and has become cheap enough for widespread use.

2030 – The new Red Artificial Blood was found, uses was still minority.

2031 – Ichika and Madoka was Born (September). All other Orimura family member has deceased.

2036 – Chifuyu and Ichika Escaped (March). Faithful Meeting with Tabane (July). White Knight Incident (Late August) Houki Transferred Out (Early September). Ichika 5-6 yrs old.

2037 – Alaska Treaty (Late January). First Mondo Grosso (Late August).

2039 – The CNT Muscle Fiber was found, uses was still minority. Most Cyborgs, both civilian and military, has used the Red Artificial blood.

2040 – Second Mondo Grosso, Ichika Kidnapped, Ichika Became a Cyborg (Late August). PMC "Famiglio Bianco" Established (Early November). Chifuyu Went to German (Mid November). Ichika 9-10 yrs old.

2041 – Ichika Started to Participate in Missions (May). Bianco Unit Established with Three Members (Early November) Ichika 10-11 yrs old.

2044 – Rin Transfered to China (Early March). Ichika Rescued Madoka (Late March). Ichika 13-14 yrs old.

2045 – Madoka started to take missions (January). Madoka joined the Bianco Unit (August)

2046 – Desperado Incursions (February). Ichika Became the First Male Pilot (April). Ichika 15 yrs old.


End file.
